Job Description

HFL1556 - Lead Early Years Adviser

Contract:

Permanent

Hours: Fulltime at 37-hours per week, 52 weeks a year. Part-time applications up to 30 hours per week will be considered.

Salary: Starting from 57,000 FTE

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the HFL Education Early Years team for a permanent Lead Early Years Adviser. The post holder will play a crucial role leading our professional development programme for schools, act as our Nursery school SEA programme lead and contribute to the innovation of our local and national products and services.

We are seeking an individual with a passion for leading change and driving improvements to secure high quality Early Years provision across more settings. Holding successful experience in Early Years and school leadership across the sector for children aged 0-5, making operational and budgetary decisions and an interest in genuinely helping others make a difference for young children.

In this role you will work closely with colleagues, head teachers and EYFS leaders across the sector, including acting as the Hertfordshire Nursery School Improvement partner lead, to provide support, challenge and enhance outcomes. You will undertake line management responsibilities and work collaboratively with other senior leaders in the team, and the role will involve travel to sites across our operating network.

Our 'working from anywhere' approach provides colleagues the opportunity to work flexibly in line with their role requirements.

This consists of on-site across various schools and settings, remote working and, if desired, up to 2 days per week in our Head Office in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The ability to reach different locations by car will be essential for this role.

If you drive, then a full driving licence and appropriate car insurance will be required.

As there is a permanent home working element to this role, you will need to ensure you are equipped for home working.

Further information about the role is set out in the job outline below.

JOB OUTLINE

Please note this is a vacancy is advertised internally and externally.

Job title: Lead Early Years Adviser (Schools - Traded) Job ref: HFL1556

Hours:

37 hours per week (will consider part-time 30 hours per week/0.8 FTE)

Salary:

Starting from 57,000 (FTE)

Contract:

Permanent

Reports to:

Head of Early Years Services

Team:

Early Years

Location:

Hybrid working consisting of remote working, flexibility required to work across educational settings in Hertfordshire and neighbouring counties, along with occasional visits to Bank House in Stevenage.

OUR COMPANY

HFL Education (Formerly Herts for Learning) is an award-winning provider of products and services to schools and educational settings within and outside Hertfordshire. We believe that every young person, through access to a great education, should be able to realise their potential, regardless of where they live or their circumstances.

We focus on supporting the schools we work with to achieve successful long-term outcomes for their children. HFL is majority owned by Hertfordshire schools and operates with a not-for-profit ethos.

JOB CONTEXT

Providing challenge, support and services to Early Years providers across the sector. Overseeing Early Years traded services (schools) and working as a manager of Early Years advisers your duties will include regular contact with schools and settings through local and regional networks and school visits (including those causing concern) to improve the quality of practice and provision. You will lead and broker advice for schools and settings across the county and beyond through consultancy and training. In addition, you will lead and collaborate with other advisers on school improvement initiatives.

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

To lead work with colleagues in developing new initiatives, products and services to raise achievement for all children in Early Years.

To maintain an overview of developments in the EYFS, ensuring schools, settings and trusts are well informed and that HFL maintains its position as a cutting-edge provider of school improvement services in Early Years.

To raise standards of achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage in schools, settings and trusts in Hertfordshire, as well as schools, settings and trusts that we work with outside of Hertfordshire.

To maintain and communicate a passion for school improvement, maximising opportunities for all, narrowing the achievement gap for vulnerable pupils and disseminating good practice across Hertfordshire and beyond.

To use local and national data sets to monitor the quality of EYFS and childcare provision in Hertfordshire, regionally and nationally.

To ensure the financial sustainability of the service by having oversight of the schools traded budget, identifying and leading on trading activities locally and nationally, maximising income and contributing to a team traded target.

MAIN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Provide direction and leadership to District Early Years advisers/Early Years Advisers overseeing the effectiveness of the EYFS in a district, planning improvement strategies and supporting the brokerage of appropriate support and services.

Work effectively within the Early Years Leadership team and with other colleagues such as the Head of Primary School Leadership and the Head of Primary Curriculum to provide leadership and oversight of Early Years school traded services and beyond.

Work effectively with other colleagues within Education Services including the Director of Education and Head of

Work with HFL colleagues to identify and broker appropriate support for early years in maintained schools and schools with early years in trusts causing concern and on early alert lists and routinely evaluate its impact.

Act as a

School Effectiveness Adviser

for Nursery Schools in Hertfordshire or Lead Adviser to support head teachers, trust leaders and governing bodies in effective school improvement through an agreed evaluation and improvement programme.

Maintain an overview of current local and national best practice in leadership, management, teaching, learning and curriculum development and to disseminate that practice to schools and trusts.

Lead on Early Years school trading opportunities and have a full understanding of the service area budget and resources to operate within this contributing to the achievement of a team traded target through products, conferences, training and consultancy in Hertfordshire and beyond.

To provide written reports as appropriate in line with service level agreements.

Where relevant work with other HFL colleagues and advisers in serving the best interests of children aged 0 - 5 years in Hertfordshire.

Contribute to delivery plan, planning and evaluation activities across the team and the service.

The duties and responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present. The post holder is expected to accept any reasonable alterations that may from time to time become necessary.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualification:

Qualified Teacher Status (essential)

Knowledge of:

The ability to analyse, interpret and use a wide range of data and information on schools, settings and children's learning (essential) Detailed knowledge of the EYFS statutory requirements, Ofsted inspection frameworks and what constitutes effective teaching and learning across the EYFS (essential)Experience of: Experience of successful senior leadership within school/private, voluntary and independent early years sector, including the effective use of self-evaluation to improve achievement and/or successful experience as an adviser (essential) Experience of making and supporting operational and budgetary decisions (essential)

Skills and abilities: High quality communication skills, both written and oral High quality presentation and training skills An ability to support a range of early years settings, including those in challenging circumstances An ability to prioritise and organise one's own workload Effective team skills - the post holder will need to work well as part of a leadership team An ability to lead and have financial oversight of the traded income of the school's team A high level of problem solving and creative thinking skills ICT skills, insofar as they are necessary to carry out the core tasks of the job.

Equal Opportunities

HFL is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We insist on the equal treatment of all current and prospective colleagues and will never condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

HFL is also equally committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation and we encourage you to view our Anti-racist position statement which gives clarity on our anti-racist stance. In our relentless efforts to be an anti-racist organisation, we recognise the negative impacts of under representation and lack of diversity in our organisation, our education system and in all aspects of our society. Therefore, for recruitment into any HFL post, where we have 2 or more candidates of equal merit, candidates with protected characteristics will be given advantage over candidates without such characteristics. This is sometimes referred to as a 'tie-breaker' and is referred to as 'positive action' in the Equality Act 2010.

To help us meet our high standards and aspirations of a fully diverse and inclusive workplace, we strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply and to join us.

Please note that if you are invited to interview, we will expect you to be prepared to discuss unconscious bias with us; we find these conversations more than any others give us all a good idea of what working together will be like.

Disclosure and Barring Service

This post may be subject to full pre-employment checks and is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Please note that additional information referring to the Disclosure and Barring Service is in the guidance notes to the application form. If you are invited to an interview, you will receive more information.

Health and safety

It will be the duty of every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the Health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.

Intellectual property rights

It is a contractual requirement of all employees of HFL to protect the intellectual, property rights of the company and to adhere to our company policy with regard to IP.

APPLICATION PROCESS For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Anne Peck on 07741 500596 or email anne.peck@hefleducation.org

To apply, please download and complete the HFL application form along with the supporting statement (maximum 2 sides of A4), explaining how you meet the requirements of the job outline and person specification. We would also love to hear why you are interested in becoming part of the HFL team.

Please email your completed application to hfl.recruitment@hfleducation.org or apply via our website: Join our team | HFL Education As part of our move towards eradicating unconscious bias within the recruitment process, we ask that you follow the guidance stated in the application forms.

Closing Date

: This job advert may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. To make sure you don't miss out on this great opportunity, please submit your application as soon as you can.

Shortlisting: Tuesday 20th January 2026

Interview Date: Monday 26th January 2026 and Thursday 29th January 2026

These dates could be brought forward dependent on applications received.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: From 57,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Cycle to work scheme On-site parking Referral programme Sick pay Store discount Work from home
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (preferred)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Stevenage SG1 3EE